


Expecting the Unexpected

by delphinus



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce has his head burried in the sand like an ostrich, Developing Relationship, Discussion of Abortion, M/M, Mpreg, Poison Ivy and her stupid concoctions cause so much trouble, The whole thing is just ridiculous, Tim worries a lot, absolute crack, because I made a lot of changes, blame it on a typo early on, but those are the main ones - Freeform, lots of characters will make appearances, seriously a lot, so does Dick, this is also something of an alternate universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-17 09:39:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 4,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2305106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/delphinus/pseuds/delphinus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Any encounter with Poison Ivy is bound to cause problems, but this goes so far beyond that. Tim is miserable, Dick is worried, Bruce is ignoring everything for as long as possible, Poison Ivy is surprisingly helpful, Jason is a snitch, and Damian is not as evil as he could be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [true of heart and best foot forward](https://archiveofourown.org/works/682133) by [somehowunbroken](https://archiveofourown.org/users/somehowunbroken/pseuds/somehowunbroken). 



> Credit where credit is due. Somehowunbroken is the reason for this mess of a fic. The whole Poison Ivy thing was in their story, here hold my breath. (Go and read that. It's really good. Open ended, though.) I made a lot of changes to the timeline for this one. Here are the main ones:  
> • Selina was there when Jason came back from the dead. She took him to Bruce and ended up being something of a mentor to him. As a result, Jason became Catlad, not Red Hood. And he's still friendly with the family.  
> • Tim is eighteen and still Robin. For now.  
> • Damian is five, though still a little brat of an assassin.  
> • Dick is roughly twenty two. If the lack of logic in this bothers you, feel free to ignore this bit. I just didn't like the huge age gap between Dick and Tim.  
> I think that's about it. Oh, one last thing. I'm not sure I'll ever finish this work, so get attached at your own risk. Read on.

When they ran into Poison Ivy, Tim just knew that his night was going to get weird, but this went above and beyond. Dick Grayson, Nightwing, was kissing him. Not a chaste kiss, either. The sort of kiss you give someone when you're hyped up on sex pollen, which, of course, he was. Dick, that is. Tim had somehow managed to avoid it. He wasn't quite sure how that had worked.

  
Which brings us to how Dick had Tim pressed against the wall and Tim was trying to decide if he should incapacitate him before Dick did something he would regret as soon as this stuff wore off. He had already tried giving him the antidote, though, and it hadn't done a thing. And Dick really needed to get this out of his system fast, before some of the nastier side effects kicked and the pollen started killing him.

  
Dick pulled away and started to strip him. Tim sighed and just let it happen. He was going to regret this later, he just knew it.

* * *

 

  
Dick yawned and rolled over, only to find himself face to face with his exhausted little brother. Memories of that night came rushing back and he bolted upright.  
"Oh no. Timmy? Tim, are you okay? Please be okay."

  
Tim smiled sleepily, but there was a note of sadness in it. "I'm fine, Dick. Promise. You didn't hurt me."

  
To hear him be so casual about what Dick knew he did was downright painful. "I- I'm so sorry. I can't believe I did that. Are you sure I didn't hurt you?"

  
"Positive, Dick. After I reminded you that I hadn't done this before you were ridiculously careful. How do you have that much control while drugged? Seriously, that's bordering on freaky. Which is saying a lot coming from me."

  
Dick made a wounded noise. "Not only did- did I rape you, I stole your first time, too?"

  
Tim turned his head and looked him in the eye. "Dick, you did not rape me. I was willing, okay? If anything, I took advantage of you."

  
"Timmy, no, you didn't-"

  
"Sure I did. There were at least five ways I could have incapacitated you, but I didn't use any of them. I took advantage of the fact that you were high on something that would kill you if you didn't get laid. I'm the one in the wrong here, not you."

  
"Why didn't you give me the antidote?" Dick asked, stricken.

  
"I did," Tim told him. "It didn't work. I think it may have actually made things worse. You might have been able to ride it out if I had knocked you out, but I had no way of being sure that you would wake up if I did that and I didn't want to risk it. This was just the best option."

  
"I still can't believe that I- I actually..."

  
"Slept with me?"

  
"No. Well, yes, but that's not what I was going to say."

  
Tim yawned. "What were you going to say?"

  
"I can't believe that I would steal your virginity like that."

  
"It's not like I'm underage. I turned eighteen a week ago."

  
"But your first time is supposed to be special."

  
"It was, Dick. I had it with the man I've had a crush on since I was twelve. That's pretty special, if you ask me."

  
"I'm so, so sorry that I did that to you, Timmy. I never wanted to hurt you."

  
Tim sighed and pulled Dick down into a kiss. When he let go, he rolled over and closed his eyes. "You didn't hurt me. Really. Look, if it makes you happy we can both pretend that none of this ever happened. Later, though. Right now, I'm so sore I can barely move. Night, Dick." Those last two words were a tired mumble as Tim fell back to sleep.

  
Dick stared at him for a minute before he reached over and brushed a few strands of hair behind Tim's ear. The younger man smiled in his sleep and moved closer to the touch.

  
It was then that Dick decided something. He would stay with Tim, if the young man would let him. It was the least he could do in return for what Tim had given up to help him.

  
Tim's words echoed in his head. "I had it with the man I've had a crush on since I was twelve." Had Tim really liked him for that long? How on earth had he not noticed? Then again, Tim always had been great at hiding things.

  
Dick brushed a kiss against Tim's cheek and sighed. "Sleep well, Timmy."


	2. Chapter 2

Tim woke up to the smell of coffee. He frowned at the clock. Who on earth would be making coffee in his apartment at ten thirty on a Tuesday morning? He started to roll over, then groaned when his sore body screamed at him for moving. The fog of sleep faded from his mind and he remembered the events of the previous night and his conversation with Dick. Dick. He must be the one making coffee.  
Tim tried to get up, but ended up slouched against the headboard. Dick came into the room, fully dressed and carrying two mugs of liquid energy.

"Here." Dick handed him one of the mugs. "I figured you would probably need it." He frowned at the way Tim was sitting and Tim let Dick shift him around until he was propped up against a few pillows. "How are we going to explain this to B?"

"We'll just tell him we had an awkward run-in with Ivy. He'll understand. It's not like he hasn't had a few of those himself. Just ask Selina."

"I doubt he'll approve."

"We're both adults. Whether Bruce likes it or not, we are old enough to make our own choices. I'm more worried about getting chewed out by Alfred for not knocking you out."

"He's more likely to scold me for getting dosed with pollen in the first place." And for hurting you.

Tim sighed and set his empty mug in his lap. "Dick. This is nice and all, but you're only doing this because you're guilty. Stop. Go home and forget all about this like I know you want to. I don't care how guilty you feel, I am not going to accept that as a good enough excuse to let you play with my emotions. No matter how good your intentions are. Go home."

Dick flinched when Tim made the comment about playing with his feelings. "No."

"Yes, Dick. I know you don't actually want that kind of a relationship with me, and unless that somehow changes you need to leave. You're sweet to worry, but I think I can take care of myself."

That's a lie and they both know it. Timothy Drake-Wayne has always been horrible at taking care of his own needs. He had a habit of getting wrapped up in whatever he was doing and forgetting to eat or sleep.

Dick looked conflicted for a second, then he leaned over and gave Tim a chaste kiss. "I'm staying here and taking care of you whether you like it or not. Yes, I'm guilty. So are you. But that's because I genuinely care about you and I want you to be happy. I'm not going to just leave you to fend for yourself. Especially when you can't even get out of bed."

Tim started to protest, but got cut off by Bruce's voice from Dick's comm. "Nightwing, are you and Robin okay?"

"We're fine, B," Dick said.

"Why didn't you come back to the Cave last night?"

Dick glanced at Tim who nodded his permission. "We had a bit of an awkward run-in with Poison Ivy. I got dosed with something, the antidote wasn't working, and Tim's place was closer."

Silence. Then, "I want to speak to Robin."

Dick handed Tim the comm. Tim stuck it in his ear. "Yes?"

"Are you okay, Tim?"

"I'm alright, B."

"You're sure? Nightwing didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Positive. I'm a bit sore, but other than that I'm fine. Dick's in worse shape than I am, emotionally. His guilt level is ridiculous. If I hadn't been willing, I would have just knocked him out. Think you could get Al to talk some sense into him?"

"I'll see what I can do. And I'll call in to WE and tell Lucius that you're sick and won't be there for a few days. Get some rest, Tim."

"I will." He handed the earpiece back to Dick.

When Dick got done talking to Alfred, he took his comm out and set it on the nightstand. "We need to talk."

Tim raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "You think?"

Dick sighed. "We just slept together. Even if I was drugged, that's still huge."

"I know that," Tim snapped "I just don't know why you feel like you have to stick around."

Dick ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. "I get attached, okay? It's why I never do one night stands. I can't stand to just leave after sleeping with someone. That just seems wrong to me."

"We're not in a relationship."

"We could be if you wanted us to."

"Not if you don't want to."

"What if I do?" Dick asked. "It wouldn't kill us to try."

Tim wanted to say that, yes, Dick, yes it would. Instead, he said, "The media would just have a field day with that."

"We're not legally related. I was just Bruce's ward. You're his adopted son."

"I'm not sure, Dick. I don't want to get too attached or risk ruining what we already have."

"I'm already too attached," Dick told him drily.

"That's you, though. You get attached so much more easily than I do."

"You're worried that you wouldn't be able to move on if we broke up."

"When, Dick. There's no way a relationship between the two of us would be anything but a disaster."

"If," Dick insisted. "Please, Tim?"

Tim uncrossed his arms. "Fine. May I get some sleep now?"

Dick lay down and hugged him close. "Night, Timmy."

"You have got to stop calling me that," Tim grumbled. "I thought we established last night that I'm not a kid anymore."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will not ever get explicit. Sorry, guys, but I can't write that stuff.

"So," Tim said over breakfast the next morning. "I feel like we should set down some rules or guidelines or something if you're going to insist on doing this."

"I am," Dick said stubbornly.

"Okay then. Is there stuff that you really don't want us doing? That's usually the best place to start."

"I'm pretty much fine with whatever, so long as it stays safe."

Tim blushed. "I'm not really big on the physical side of relationships. I'm not asexual, but I come pretty close sometimes. Sorry."

Dick reached across the table to squeeze his hand. "Don't be. It'll be nice to have a relationship that isn't all about the sex. The emotional side of a relationship can be just as rewarding as the physical."

Tim sighed in something akin to relief. "You don't mind?"

"Not at all. We'll do those things or not do those things on your say so. I'm fine either way."

Tim nodded. "Umm. It just occurred to me that I don't even know where you live right now. Are you still in that little apartment up on thirty-fifth?"

"Nah. I moved out of there a while ago. I've actually just been staying up at the Manor lately because of that huge breakout at Arkham and Blackgate. I've been too wiped out by the time I get in to do much else. You're living here, I assume."

"Most of the time. Sometimes, when I'm really exhausted, I just crash at whomever's place is closest. Steph's, Selina's, Roy's, the Manor, wherever. Anything else I need to know? Random fact? Anything?"

"Umm. I like black licorice?"

Tim blinked. "Seriously? I always liked strawberry best, though I suppose black is okay."

The conversation turned into a debate about which types of candy were best, with Dick passionately defending black licorice and Tim arguing in favor of Werther's.

Maybe, Tim thought, just maybe we can make this work.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

They had their first official date at a theme park. Dick insisted on riding the tallest rollercoaster until he puked. Tim disguised his concern by telling him, "No, Dick, I'm not letting you lean on me. You're the one who wanted to get sick, so now you get to deal with the consequences."

A week after that, Tim took Dick to a museum that he had bought the previous year to keep it from closing. He showed his boyfriend all of the ways he was updating the museum to make it more modern, hands-on, and kid friendly. He laughed when Dick couldn't beat one of the games they were putting in for the younger visitors.

Over those first five weeks, they spent a lot of time getting to know each other better. Tim already knew Dick pretty well, but there turned out to be a lot of things that Dick didn't know about Tim, such as the fact that he loved history. Dick started to relax and believe that maybe they could make this work after all.


	4. Interlude 1

"Hey, Bruce?"

Bruce looked up from his newspaper. "Yes, Jason?"

"Did you know that Golden Boy and Baby Bird are in a relationship now?"

Bruce shook his head numbly. "I was not aware of that." Silently, he wondered which of them he should be giving the if you hurt my son talk to. He decided that it would be better to just pretend he didn't know and went back to reading the paper.


	5. Chapter 5

Tim woke up one morning feeling like he was about to puke. So he ran to the bathroom and did just that. Rather than easing the nausea, however, that seemed to make it worse. He stayed bent over the toilet until it had calmed slightly. Not a lot, but some.

Dick, who had decided to spend the night after patrol, came in, looking concerned. "Tim? Are you okay?"

Tim shook his head. "I think I'm gonna have to skip out on work today."

Dick stepped closer and wrapped his arms around him. He hummed soothingly when Tim burrowed deeper into his embrace. "Are you sick?"

"I feel like it. I just woke up feeling like I was about to be sick, so I came in here and threw up, but that just made it worse."

Dick softly rubbed circles on his back. "Come on, Timmy. Back to bed with you. Can I get you anything?"

"Some saltine crackers. They're in the pantry, top shelf on the right. And a bucket. And maybe my laptop?"

Dick tucked him back in, a worried frown on his face. "Do you have any idea how you might have gotten sick?"

"None. As far as I know, I haven't been around anyone who's been sick and I haven't gotten dosed with any strange substances on patrol or anything like that lately."

"I'll get you what you asked for. Try to go back to sleep."

Tim spent all that day and the next alternately throwing up and curled into a ball, wracked with pain from cramps in his abdomen. At the end of the second day the cramps stopped, but the nausea still wouldn't go away. In addition to that, Tim started to get dizzy and fatigued. Even if he weren't sick, he would have been too tired to patrol. It was concerning, to say the least.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Dick got more and more worried as time passed. Tim seemed to almost be fading away. And to make matters worse, they had yet to figure out what was wrong. He decided that something needed to be done. With Tim's permission, he took a blood sample to Dr Leslie Tompkins to see if she could help. She told him to keep an eye on Tim and come back in a couple of days.

So Dick and Tim found themselves sitting in an exam room at Leslie's clinic. Tim had a bucket sitting on the floor in front of him for safety's sake. Dick sat on the table next to him, a comforting arm around his waist.

Dr Tompkins came in, holding a clipboard with Tim's blood work. "I'm not sure how to tell you this, but if I didn't know for sure that Tim is a man, I'd say he's pregnant. All of the signs are there." She handed the clipboard to Dick.

Tim frowned for a moment, then his eyes went wide. "Ivy," he whispered. His already too pale skin went even whiter.

Dick stopped reading and froze. "You don't think..."

"Maybe that's why the antidote didn't work. It wasn't just her usual pollen." Tim was shaking lightly.

Dick hugged him. "Hey, calm down. We'll find Ivy and talk to her. She can tell us what that was and what's going on." Tim nodded mutely. Dick bent down and whispered in his ear, "You'll be okay. I promise."


	6. Chapter 6

Ivy was holed up in Robinson Park where they had left her. She smiled at them. "Nightwing, Robin, hello. What can I do for you?"

"What did you do to Robin?" Dick growled.

She scowled. "It's not my fault he accidentally exposed himself to the fertility treatment I've been working on."

"Fertility treatment?" Tim asked quietly.

Ivy nodded. "You know I can't have children. Not like this. I want to change that. I want to settle down, have a family, be a mother. That vial you spilled all over yourself contained a mixture of plant-based chemicals that are meant to allow that to happen. They'll also sever my connection to the plants, but so long as I can have the family I want so much, that doesn't matter to me."

"Wait," Nightwing began, confused. "Let me get this straight. You're trying to go straight because you want a family, and we barged in and-"

"And accidentally mixed several of my formulas together, which apparently created a pollen your antidote can't counteract, as well as exposed Robin to a mix if chemicals designed to help me get pregnant."

They stood in stunned silence for a while until Tim spoke up. "I'm sorry, Pam. If I had known you weren't causing any trouble, I would have just left you alone. As it stands, though, we need your help."

"What on earth with?"

Dick rubbed the back of his neck. "Sex pollen and fertility treatments don't mix well."

Ivy stared. "You got Robin pregnant. Interesting. I had absolutely no idea that mixture was so strong." Pamela pointed to a metal table. "Sit."

Tim obeyed. Dick stood by, watching nervously as she brought out some equipment and plugged it in. "What is that?" he asked.

She pressed a part of it to Tim's stomach. "It's a special, modified ultrasound machine that I had made a while back." She pointed to a screen sitting on another table. "From what I can see, it looks like the chemicals altered Robin's physiology to make it possible for him to carry a baby. And make no mistake about it, he is carrying a child." Ivy turned the machine off. "Congratulations, you're going to be parents."

Tim put his face in his hands. "What are we going to do, Wing? We've barely even started dating. Not to mention that I'm only just legally an adult. I'm not ready to be a parent."

Dick hugged him tightly. "No one said that you have to keep the child."

"I'm not getting an abortion," he said fiercely. "I don't kill in the field and I'm not about to have someone take the life of a- of my unborn child."

"Our child," Dick corrected. "I'm not letting you go through this alone."

Pamela cleared her throat. "I really hate to interrupt, but I'm not even sure that you'll be able to carry the child for the full pregnancy. There's a huge risk of complications that could easily kill you or the baby. Or both."

Tim crossed his arms stubbornly. "I'm not getting an abortion."

"I'm not asking you to. I just think that you ought to know the risks before you rush into this. Go home, talk it out. I'll be here if you decide you need my help."

Tim smiled weakly at her. "Thank you, Ivy. You've been very helpful."

She patted him gently on the back as he passed. "Dr Isely, dear. Just Pam, if you prefer."

"Thanks, Pam."

"You're welcome, Robin." She watched them go with a shake of her head. "Those two. Who would have thought?"


	7. Interlude II

"Hey, Bruce, did you know-?"

"No and I don't want to. Stop talking now, Jason."

"Why? You don't want to hear that Dick got Timmy pregnant?"

Bruce groaned. His family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you hadn't noticed, these interludes are just short little bits meant to lighten the mood of an overly serious and dramatic story.
> 
> And because, no matter what you change, Jason enjoys messing with Bruce.


	8. Chapter 8

"What are we going to do, Dick?"  
"We're going to consider our options like rational human beings. Abortion is out. I'm not going to pressure you into making a decision like that. So that leaves two choices: You can go through with the pregnancy and put the baby up for adoption, or-"  
"No. I'm not giving up my child. Our child. Steph and I did that with her baby. I couldn't stand to do it again." Tim looked away.  
Dick hugged him. "Okay. You don't have to. It was just an idea. The other option is to try to raise the kid ourselves."  
"You'll help?"  
"Of course I'll help. It's my baby too. Tim, hey, look at me. I am not leaving you, okay? We'll get through this together."  
"Why do you care so much?"  
Dick kissed him. "Because I love you, Tim. That makes it my job to care."  
\----------------------------------------------------------- 

Tim and Dick spent the next few days reading anything and everything they could about pregnancy and parenthood. They talked to Leslie, who agreed to let them come to her for checkups and if there were any problems.

Most of their time, however, was spent coming up with a cover story for why Timothy Drake-Wayne would be absent for nine months and then turn up with a baby. Tim suggested pretending that he had contracted some rare disease and was away getting treatment, but Dick felt like that was inviting bad luck. In the end, they settled on telling the press that Tim was traveling like Bruce had when he was younger. If it had worked once, they reasoned.

In order to make their story work, Tim moved back to the Manor, out of the way of prying eyes. Robin wasn't a member of the Justice League, which made things easier, but he was the leader of the Teen Titans. Tim solved that problem by calling Bart and asking him to tell the team that he would be gone for about a year and that Cassie was in charge until he got back. He hung up before the speedster could argue.

At one point, the Justice League almost found out. Superman was in the habit of checking up on the various members of the Bat Family. He heard an extra heartbeat when he listened in on Tim. Bruce had to swear him to secrecy.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because I needed a way to get Damian in here.

Two weeks after Tim moved to the Manor, Ra's al Ghul's League of Assassins attacked. They stole Tim when they couldn't get Bruce. The ninja took him back to one of their bases and threw him in a cell, only to drag him back out again when Ra's asked to see him.

"Do you know why you are here?" he asked Tim.

One of Tim's hands shifted instinctively to cover his slightly rounded belly. "No."

"You are here to help me finally convince the Detective to stand by my side."

"Not going to happen." Tim swayed slightly. The smell of the incense was making him sick.

Ra's frowned. "Are you ill?"

Tim shook his head and tried to stand straighter, but ended up hunched over, puking up his breakfast.

"You are." Ra's clapped and a servant came and cleaned up the mess.

"No, not sick," Tim told him.

"Then how do you propose to explain what just occurred?"

Tim just shook his head again, staying silent.

Ra's' eyes flickered from Timothy's hand to his face. They took in the slight greenish tint of his overly pale skin and the barely noticeable bulge of his belly. "You are pregnant."

Tim looked away, blushing slightly.

Ra's called for his servants. "Place Timothy in one of the guest rooms. Make sure that it is heavily guarded at all times. Anything he asks for, within reason of course, you are to retrieve for him."

They half dragged, half carried Tim to a new room and locked him in. He flopped down on the bed, curled up, and silently begged Dick to come quickly.


	10. Chapter 10

"Tt. I do not see why Grandfather is so invested in keeping you here. You do not look like anything special."

Tim looked up from his book to see a five-year-old boy standing beside him. "I don't think you're supposed to be in here."

"I go where I wish," the boy informed him haughtily. "Grandfather will not mind."

Tim raised an eyebrow. "If you're sure. Am I allowed to know who you are?"

He puffed out his chest. "I am Damian al Ghul-Wayne, son of the Batman and heir to the League of Shadows."

"Ah. That's nice. And how was your day, Damian?"

"You do not believe me." His pout made Tim want to hug him.

"No, I believe you, I just don't really care."

"Oh. I suppose my day was alright. I made Mother proud."

"Really? Want to tell me about it?"

"One of my trainers attempted to harm me. I killed him with one blow. Mother was very pleased with me."

"Were you pleased with you?"

Damian hesitated, then crawled up onto the bed to sit across from Tim. "...I do not know," he said hesitantly. "I am pleased that I made Mother proud, but I feel bad about killing him. I know that I should not be upset-"

"But you are anyway," Tim finished.

"Yes."

Tim rubbed his swollen belly thoughtfully. "What have you been taught about killing?"

"I know how to make someone's death quick and painless or long and agonizing. I know that I must kill to further Grandfather's cause. That it makes Mother and Grandfather proud of me. That it is the way of the League and I must follow it."

"Must you? Damian, were you ever even given a choice? How can you be sure that what you're doing is right if you've never known any other way?"

"I...Do not know."

One of the guards opened the door. "Master Damian, your mother wants you."

"I will return when I can," the boy promised. "What is your name?"

"Timothy Drake."

"I will be back, Timothy," he promised again and hurried away.


End file.
